Mat 26:1-5 | PNT | STEP | The Preparation for the Lord's Death SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 26: The Declaration to the Disciples That the Time Was at Hand. The Wicked Counsel of the Rulers. The Anointing at Bethany. The Alabaster Box. Judas Sells His Lord. The Feast of the Passover. The Traitor Revealed. The Lord's Supper. The Agony in the Garden. The Seizure of Jesus. The Trial before Caiaphas. When Jesus had finished all these sayings . The discourses recorded in the three preceding chapters. The time was Tuesday night, after the Jewish Wednesday began; that is, after sunset. Compare .

Matthew 26:1-5

The Preparation for the Lord's Death SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 26: The Declaration to the Disciples That the Time Was at Hand. The Wicked Counsel of the Rulers. The Anointing at Bethany. The Alabaster Box. Judas Sells His Lord. The Feast of the Passover. The Traitor Revealed. The Lord's Supper. The Agony in the Garden. The Seizure of Jesus. The Trial before Caiaphas.

When Jesus had finished all these sayings. The discourses recorded in the three preceding chapters. The time was Tuesday night, after the Jewish Wednesday began; that is, after sunset. Compare Mr 14:1-11 Lu 22:1-6 Joh 12:1-8. After two days. After Wednesday and Thursday. The day indicated is Friday.

The passover. For the origin of this feast, see Ex 12:1-14. It was really the Jewish emancipation day, the greatest of their feasts, and the paschal lamb was a type of the slain Christ. Then assembled. An official meeting of the Sanhedrin.

The chief priests. The high priests, Annas and Caiaphas, and the heads of the twenty-four courses.

The elders of the people. The heads of the great families, the princes of Judah.

Unto the palace of the high priest. The palace of Caiaphas. The body now about to assemble, the Sanhedrin, was the supreme court of Israel. According to Jewish accounts, it was composed of seventy-one members, the high priest being president. The "chief priests", or heads of the twenty-four courses, distinguished representatives of the "scribes", and "elders of the people", the heads of the great families, constituted the membership. It could try and condemn to death, but could not carry out capital punishment without the consent of the Roman authorities at this time. It was mostly composed of bitter, bigoted enemies of Jesus, determined at any cost to secure his death. In the trial the Jewish law was constantly violated.

Caiaphas. The reigning high priest, the son-on-law of Annas, who had been high priest, but was deposed by the Romans, but was still called a high priest. Both were Sadducees. Take Jesus by subtilty. They were afraid of the people and wished to seize Jesus secretly and deliver him to the Romans to be crucified before the people knew of their designs. See Lu 21:38. Not on the feast [day]. During the passover there were millions of Jews in Jerusalem. Josephus says that in A.D. 65, three million were present. There were often tumults at the passover, and it was feared that the arrest of Jesus would arouse one. On such occasions the Romans suppressed the disturbance without mercy.